Hitchcock: The Beginning

Released: 16th December 2024. Witness the birth of a cinematic legend. For the first time on Blu-ray, featuring new restorations and scores, experience 10 of Alfred Hitchcock's early works. From the silent film era to the first talkies, this 11-disc set also contains a newly commissioned, full-length documentary, Becoming Hitchcock, exploring the director's first sound picture, Blackmail. In 1929, Hitchcock directed Blackmail, the first British sound feature, hailed as a film which "used sound and dialogue with more flair and imagination than any Hollywood or European film of the time." Hitchcock's inventive and expressionist use of sound demonstrated that the new technology opened a new realm of possibilities. The Ring (1927): The Ring is a love triangle melodrama set in the world of boxing: the title refers not just to the boxing ring, but also to the wedding ring which unites Jack 'one round' Sander (Carl Brisson) and his girlfriend Mabel (Lilian Hall-Davis. The Farmer's Wife (1928): The Farmer's Wife concerns the search of a widowed farmer, Samuel Sweetland (Jameson Thomas), for a new wife, approaching four local spinsters with arrogant expectation, only to be wounded by rejection each time. Champagne (1928): Disapproving of her love affair, a millionaire (Gordon Harker) sets out to teach his irresponsible daughter (Betty Balfour) a lesson by pretending to lose all his money in Champagne. The Manxman (1929): In a remote Isle of Man fishing community, two men, friends since childhood, find themselves in love with the same woman. Blackmail (1929): Grocer's daughter Alice White (Anny Ondra) kills a man in self-defence when he tries to sexually assault her. Her policeman boyfriend covers up for her, but she has been spotted leaving the scene by a petty criminal who tries to blackmail her. Juno and the Paycock (1930): Starring Barry Fitzgerald, Marie O'Neill, Edward Chapman, Sara Allgood. During the Irish Civil War in 1922, a family earns a big inheritance. They start leading a rich life, forgetting what the most important values are. Based on the successful play by Seán O'Casey, Hitchcock filmed a faithful reproduction of the play using fewer of his directorial touches than he usually incorporated, often asking cinematographer Jack Cox to hold the camera for long single shots. Murder! (1930): Starring Herbert Marshall, Nora Baring, Edward Chapman, Phyllis Konstam. An actress is convicted of the murder of another actress in the same touring company. But the distinguished actor Sir John Menier (Herbert Marshall), who served on the jury at her trial, becomes convinced of her innocence. One of Hitchcock's few whodunits, MURDER! is a fascinating, multi-layered study of the role played by performance in public and private life, and features long, carefully choreographed takes, as well as an intriguing take on sexuality. Included as an extra is MARY the German language version of MURDER!, made at the same time as the English original and boasting not only top actor Abel (Phantom, Metropolis, L'Argent) but mysterious silent-era star Tchekowa. The film reflects the influence of German Expressionism on Hitchcock's lighting. The Skin Game 1931): Starring Edmund Gwenn, Helen Haye, C V France, Jill Esmond, John Longden, Phyllis Konstam. The rivalry between a gentrified family and a wealthy tradesman turns to tragedy when the former use their discovery of the dark past of the tradesman's daughter-in-law to thwart his building plans. Adapted by Hitchcock with a script by Alma Reville, from the successful stage play by John Galsworthy, THE SKIN GAME presents a powerful and convincing portrayal of industrial encroachment on the rural gentry with a mix of long-take dialogue scenes and montage. Rich and Strange (1931): Starring Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Percy Marmont, Betty Amann, Elsie Randolph. Married couple Fred and Emily Hill (Henry Kendall and Joan Barry) go on a world cruise to escape their humdrum lives. Their relationship begins to fall apart when they both become attracted to other people. A charming film that possesses many of Hitchcock's signature touches and with a somewhat daring theme which Hitchcock would return to in THE 39 STEPS. Number Seventeen (1932): Starring John Stuart, Anne Grey, Leon M Lion. A detective (John Stuart) tracks a group of criminals to a deserted house above a rail depot which they are using to escape to the continent. A comedy thriller, adapted from Joseph Farjeon's play, Hitchcock was initially unhappy with the project as he considered the story to be riddled with cliches, so the script written by Rodney Ackland with Hitchcock and Alma Reville takes on a satirical and entertaining tone and contained the first appearance of what was to become a characteristic of Hitchcock's work - a MacGuffin - in this case a stolen necklace. BECOMING HITCHCOCK THE LEGACY OF BLACKMAIL (2024): Brand new 72-minute documentary from award-winning filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau (Faye, Music by John Williams, Five Came Back) and narrated by